Floods: Our
Do-Nothing Government
Flooding
may lower LPT– Joan (Let them eat Cake) Burton, Leader of Labour
For those who have lost everything in the floods, fear not, Tánaiste
Joan Burton has said that if people have been affected by severe flooding they
may be able to look again at the valuation of their property, which could
reduce the burden of the property tax.
Ms Burton said there are provisions to defer the tax, but said
that firstly she would like to see the valuations being examined, particularly
for people who do not have access to insurance. You may not have a roof over
your head, you have no house insurance since the 2009 flooding, you may be
struggling to cope with the unbelievable stress and worry the crisis has caused
you, but at least good old Joan, a worthy ambassador for caring and compassion,
will knock a few quid of your property tax.
There is no shortage of rain in Ireland as we face the grim
prospect of three more weeks of wet weather. But the government that insists on
water charges does very little about flooding. They should be declaring an
extraordinary regional disaster to the EU and getting funds immediately to help
those affected. http://ec.europa.eu/regional_policy/EN/funding/solidarity-fund/
Yes, of course, they repeat the scripts prepared by their
script doctors. They are spending millions on flood defences; grants are
available to those in distress; there is nothing that can be done about the
weather.
In
reality, they are worse than useless.
They
cut capital spending for the Office of Public Works Flood Risk Management
programme in the 2016 budget by €15.6 million. That represented a 25 percent
reduction.
They
have allowed flood defence systems to be delayed for up to two years.
In
2007, an EU directive required member states to carry out flood assessments to
identify areas of significant risk by 2011. They then had to prepare flood
hazard and risk maps for the areas identified. By the end of 2015, there was
supposed to be flood risk management plans in place.
This
overall programme was known as Catchment Flood Risk Assessment and Management
(CFRAM).
However,
a report in the Irish Independent revealed that almost 20 major flood defence
schemes are running behind schedule. The article stated that
‘Progress
reports from the Office of Public Works (OPW) reveal that schemes across seven
counties are overdue, because of delays in completing detailed designs or a
failure to appoint consultants to oversee the projects.’
The
government has also done very little to stop the insurance industry rejecting
cover for those in affected areas.
Instead
the OPW and the Insurance Industry have agreed to exchange data on flooding.
This has only meant that the insurance industry uses the information to push up
prices for affected areas to sums which are impossible to pay.
In
other countries it is illegal for insurance companies to cherry pick who they
will cover and not cover.
Yet
even where flood defences have been put in place, the Irish Insurance industry
is allowed to get away with refusals to cover.
This
scandalous situation could be averted if the Minister for Finance used his
power to refuse to licence insurance companies that were engaged in this
activity. But in neoliberal Ireland there is supposed to be no interference in
business – so nothing is done.
The
floodings are a grim warning about the effects of global warming. Weather
patterns are changing because the capitalist system we live under is addicted
to fossils fuels and this is leading to a rise in global temperatures.
The
Irish government is full of platitudes when it comes to reducing carbon
emissions but their actions tells a different story.
They
have cut back dramatically on public transport and have made Ireland one of the
most car dependent societies in the world.
The flooding crisis shows why we need a real left wing government
that takes real action. Such a government would:
(i)
Establish
a state run insurance industry which provided automatic cover to households. It
would withdraw the licences from private firms that refused cover.
(ii)
Mobilise
a directly employed OPW workforce to build flood defences immediately.
(iii)
Organise
the evacuation of isolated households at risk of constant flooding.
(iv)
Investigate
how corrupt planners allowed housing developments to occur on flood plains.
(v)
Take
real action to stop climate change by moving away from the market and
developing an economic system based on proper planning.
